


The Most Pleasant of Dreams

by zarabithia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Anakin Skywalker Eats Bugs, Domesticity, F/M, Happily Ever After, Palpatine Dies Like He Deserves, Pregnancy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-02 21:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14553585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: Anakin and Ahsoka both walk away from the Order.  They build a life and a family far away  from the Jedi.





	The Most Pleasant of Dreams

**Morning:**

When she wakes, the bed is empty beside her. That's not the way their mornings usually begin, but she's been sleeping in later these days because she's more tired than she'd ever been during the war. The first time around, Anakin had been reluctant to leave their bed, for fear that the mere need for extra sleep had been a sign that something was wrong. 

But this time around, he's in the kitchen, and Ahsoka's two favorite people are devouring the eggs that had made Ahsoka throw up no less than five times yesterday morning.

"Good morning, Snips. Nice of you to join us." 

"Good morning, Skyguy. Nice of you to feed Ben something besides bugs this morning." 

"Hey! They're nutritious," Anakin protests. "And delicious. Don't knock it til you try it. Isn't that right, Ben?" 

"I like bugs!" Ben protests. 

"I like morning hugs," Ahsoka tells him. The six-year-old is up off his seat, eggs forgotten, and his tiny arms doing his best to fit around his mother's growing stomach. Ahsoka ruffles the gold-white hair and idly wonders if the next one will have her montrals, or, if like Ben, their second child will have only her coloring. 

"I like morning hugs, too," Anakin says pointedly. 

"I already gave you morning hugs," Ben says, sitting down to finish his breakfast. 

Anakin pouts in Ahsoka's general direction. "I hug you plenty, Skyguy. Your hugs are the reason it's impossible for me to enjoy those eggs." 

Anakin covers a laugh by popping half an egg into his mouth and Ahsoka's stomach rumbles. Better play it safe today, she figures ... which means something that won't taste awful coming back up, just in case. 

"I thought it was the baby's fault you can't eat eggs," Ben says loudly. 

"I know, right? And here your Mama is, blaming _me_." Anakin's blue eyes sparkle with mirth, and it would be easier to pretend to be angry with him if he wasn't so handsome. 

Ahsoka reaches for some fruit and bread and ruffles her son's unruly hair. "I blame both of them. You're the only one not giving me hassle, youngling." 

As is always the case when she uses her nickname for their son, Anakin's expression softens. It's enough to make Ahsoka give in and give him that requested hug. He hugs her back tightly and she allows her fingers to run through his hair, which falls to the middle of his back even when loosely tied. His hair's grown lighter since the summer began, and Ahsoka aches for the winter when the darker hues will return. The sun-kissed hues are not the colors Ahsoka first dreamed of touching, back before she'd ever thought that dream would come true. 

"You need a haircut," she tells him as he takes advantage of the hug and leans into rest his head on her bump. 

"I'll get a haircut if you'll stay home and take it easy today," he suggests, still not moving his head. 

"That's not gonna happen," Ben interrupts. "Me and Mama have lots of stuff to do at the shop today!" 

"Yes, but Mama's not been feeling well," Anakin says lightly. "So maybe your projects can wait, and - "

"Maybe you should stop hugging Mama and making her sick," Ben says huffily.

Ahsoka laughs and gives Anakin's ponytail a light tug. "The youngling is right. I guess it's a good thing I like the long hair." 

Anakin sighs. "It's been fifteen years, Snips. Are you ever going to let me win a fight?" 

"Never," she says as she pulls away, signaling that it's time to leave. There are projects to complete, after all.

* * *

**Noon:**

Anakin spends much of the day outside, arguing with a variety of customers who don't want to pay fair prices for the work that they are receiving. Ahsoka leaves a window open so that she can hear it, because if one thing continues to be true, it's that her blood still rushes with excitement each time Anakin gets in a cranky mood. Her Skyguy has mellowed so much since leaving the Order, and Ahsoka knows he's happy.

But Anakin yelling at a jerk customer is just enough of a thrill to make Ahsoka remember how he'd looked in battle. 

She wouldn't trade what they have for what they _had_ , but it's hard sometimes, to sooth the warrior she'd been raised as. 

"Mama!!" Ben shouts, running in excited, sweaty, and out of breath. "Guess what? I got the rocks to move this time! On purpose!" 

"Good job, little one," Ahsoka tells him. "I'm very proud of you. Nobody saw you, right?"

"Nah, I was careful," Ben promises. "But it took a lot of strength. Can I have a snack?” 

"A vegetable and one slice of cheese," She answers. 

Anakin's scowl covers Ben's face, and it looks strange, seeing his face reflected back on Togruta skin. But it's a comfortable kind of strange, and Ahsoka goes back to trying to figure out what kind of gross goo is all over the power converter in her hands. 

Outside, Anakin's voice has quieted down. Inside their little shop, Ben is trying to make the brown root in his hand float, as if that will charm her enough to let him have something sweeter for a snack.

Well, what child of theirs wouldn't argue? Somewhere in the galaxy, Master Kenobi is definitely laughing at them.

* * *

**Afternoon:**

Later, the Mon Calamari farmer comes to collect his finished power converter. He comes prepared with stories about the Republic Senate and the _shocking_ news that the Chancellor has submitted a vote to the Senate to further restrict the Chancellor's powers in time of war. 

Ahsoka listens to him and out of politeness, doesn't roll her eyes. She doesn't keep up on Core World politics much these days, but honestly, why is this news shocking to anyone who has followed Padmé's career at all? 

"Imagine thinking of war when we've had peace for so long!" the farmer says. 

Imagine forgetting war when they’d fought one for so long, Ahsoka thinks. 

Anakin rolls his eyes over his lunch, because feigned politeness has never much been his game. 

"Core Worlds ... think a bit differently," Ahsoka says diplomatically. 

"I suppose... did you ever have the misfortune to live there?" 

It's a nosy question, but the great thing about nosy questions is that they can usually be answered in vague terms because people don't actually care about the answer. 

"We visited a few, when we were young and foolish," Ahsoka answers. 

"One of us might have been young and foolish," Anakin scoffs.

"Yes, but I was trying to be nice to you and not single you out," Ahsoka teases.

As predicted, the farmer does not care about their discussion. He haggles them only slightly about the price before he pays and leaves. After he is gone, Ben idly begins to try to levitate his vegetables. One of the brown root vegetables that are native to their adopted planet explodes instead. 

As Anakin is cleaning up the mess, Ben asks, "Why did you leave the Core Worlds and come out here, Mama?" 

"The Core Worlds didn't quite have what we were looking for," Ahsoka says diplomatically. "I left first, actually. Your father stayed until he realized that the bigger prize he wanted wasn't fame or power." 

"What was it?" Ben asks.

"A family," Anakin says simply.

* * *

**Evening:**

They technically have a kitchen droid. But it is still Ahsoka and Anakin who end up making the preparations for dinner. Ahsoka cleans the Kebroot that somehow manages to get imported to their tiny Outer Rim world. Ben sits at the table and practices his numbers, while they both listen to Anakin complain about their kitchen droid being "useless." 

"She's not useless. She just can't cook." 

"Snips, what's the point of a kitchen droid who can't cook?" 

"She can clean. Let me fill you in on a secret, Skyguy. It's always easier to use a knife than it is to bend over and scrub the floor." 

"You'd make me scrub the floor, anyway," he scoffs. "Either way... before the cool season comes... I think we need to buy another kitchen droid." 

"As long as you quit expecting every droid to be as useful as Artoo," she tells him. 

"I'm going to sneak back to Naboo and steal Artoo back," he mutters. He pauses long enough in their discussion to take the handful of Kebroot from her and begin to chop it up. 

"Padmé would blast you," Ahsoka scoffs. "And then Obi-Wan would cry because he'd have to choose between the great love of his life and his former Padawan." 

"Fine, fine," Anakin mumbles, dropping the Kebroot into the pot. "Think she'd let me steal C-3PO? He's a protocol droid. He should be able to cook. He might even have learned a few tricks from my Mom." 

"I think we're going to have to buy our own," she answers. "We should certainly be able to afford it, with you charging 'outrageous' prices to poor passing Corellian pilots."

"He was barely even a pilot," Anakin asserts. "I could have beat him and his rusty old ship with the podracer I built when I was _nine_." 

"I want to build a podracer!" Ben chimes in. 

Anakin winces as Ahsoka glares at him. Then shrugs helplessly. "He's already got it in him to be a great pilot, Snips. Twice over." 

Well, that isn't untrue. "Why don't you just build me a new kitchen droid?" 

"Droids are boring!" Ben protests. 

Ahsoka laughs at the indignant look on Anakin's face, before giving the stew a stir.

* * *

**Night:**

He comes to their bed smelling of sweat, hard work, and machinery. She dismisses his concern for her health, and pulls him close. He listens to her wants, and the bodies that had fought so well together during a War that seems so far away still move in perfect rhythm to one another. Ahsoka wraps her fist around the longest part of Anakin's hair as he expertly navigates the more sensitive spots of her body. A long line of _Snips_ gives way to a breathless _Ahsoka_ ; teasing directions to _Skyguy_ rapidly give way to desperate begging for _Anakin_ to never, ever stop what he's doing. 

Eventually, when they both _have_ to stop, Anakin lies beside her and places his fingers on her stomach. Ahsoka can feel the Force's presence within her so strongly that it almost hurts. But she'd never ask Anakin to stop, both because the feel of her child's presence in the Force is one that she relishes and because the sight of Anakin tenderly touching her stomach is one she will never grow tired of. 

Lying here beside him, watching his tenderness, it's easy to let her mind wander to the way things used to be - back when they did not have the luxury to be tender. 

"Something bothering you, Snips?" Anakin asks, his fingers still drawing circles on her stomach. 

"The past was just saying hello, that's all," she tells him honestly. It isn't as though he doesn't understand that; sometimes, the nightmares are still severe for him. 

"You having regrets?" 

He asks it often of her. She knows that this life makes him happy, but she also knows that if it ever stopped making her happy, he'd follow her wherever she might choose to go next. 

"No way. I walked away first, remember? I had to wait on your to catch up to my good decisions." 

"Those were pretty high standards for me to catch up to," Anakin admits. 

"Mmm, true. Might be impossible for you to ever match my standard," Ahsoka agrees. 

"Good thing I've got the rest of our lives together to improve my chances." 

Later, Ahsoka stays awake and watches him sleep until the potential fates that the rest of their lives may bring lull her into sleep with the most pleasant of dreams.


End file.
